Whether you ride an adventure bike, a tourer, or a sportbike, if it’s a BMW you can get it with antilock brakes. BMW will be the first motorcycle manufacturer to offer ABS as standard equipment on all of its 2012 motorcycle models.

“Plain and simple, being able to stop a motorcycle faster and more predictably helps prevent a rider from becoming a statistic,” said Pieter de Waal, Vice President, BMW Motorrad USA. “It’s time for all of us in the motorcycle industry to embrace the benefits of ABS. Extensive testing by safety experts, law enforcement authorities and journalists around the world consistently demonstrates that ABS reduces overall crashes and saves lives.”

Recent safety reports show that bikes with ABS are 37 percent less likely to be involved in a crash than a motorcycle without ABS.

“We commend BMW for taking the lead to improve motorcycle safety,” said David Strickland, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Motorcycle fatalities and injuries have been on an upward trend for the past ten years and ABS and other safety technologies can help reduce these tragedies.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that there are numerous factors that contribute to motorcycle crashes, but poor braking, which is one of the key ingredients in a motorcycle crash, can be reconciled before a motorcycle takes to the road.

“I commend BMW for taking the lead in making ABS standard across the board,” said Adrian Lund, IIHS president. “Our research results show ABS on motorcycles saves lives, and riders are taking note, too. A recent survey found that a majority of riders said they would look for ABS on their next bikes.”

BMW has always been a pioneer of ABS. They were the first motorcycle manufacturer to provide ABS brakes in 1988, and now they offer a wide variety of ABS options to fit every bike in its 2012 lineup.